Goldberg Accused of ‘Commentary’ Mix-Up

Laughably insists he was kidding

Last week, Salonreported that Tablet Magazine contributing editor Jeffrey Goldberg had erroneously “referred to Commentary editor John Podhoretz as ‘the editor of Mother Jones magazine.'” Mother Jones, of course, is actually quite liberal, whereas Commentary is quite, you know, not. “This,” writer Alex Pareene concluded, is “what happens when you hire a reporter who came up without proper supervision and toilet-training.” In his defense, Goldberg claims that he was joking. Should we believe him?

After long consideration, I think that, yes, we should. Goldberg, one of the most prominent journalists on Jewish issues in the country, ultimately deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to knowing who the editor of one of the most prominent Jewish journals is. (Especially when said editor is his fellow right-wing neocon Podhoretz, with whom, I have heard, Goldberg routinely plots ways to establish “a radical rethinking of what it means to be pro-Israel” that involves condemning settlements.)

Take it from us: Goldberg may not know toilets. But Jews? Jews he knows.

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Jesus, I can’t believe this story has legs. If anyone read the blog post you could easily tell he was joking. As every Jewish person in the world (including myself) thinks he is a comedian, you would think everyone would know he was joking. Unfortunately, the blogosphere has to over analyze everything.

fwsays:

August 2, 2010 - 4:05 pm

I think Marc is also exercising his inner Catskills persona.

Davidsays:

August 2, 2010 - 4:28 pm

In the original Goldberg post, Podhoretz’s name and alleged affiliation with Mother Jones was a LINK to Commentary, just in case someone was too boneheaded to get the obvious joke. It’s Alex Pareene at Salon who clearly doesn’t have a modicum of journalistic integrity – otherwise, he’d have clicked the link before writing about it. Ironic that he accuses Goldberg of bad reporting, but that’s what happens when you let ideology trump your rationality. Salon ought to apologize for the smear and reprimand this kid.

fwsays:

August 2, 2010 - 4:36 pm

Not likely, David. They hired him for precisely this kind of witless sarcasm.

ASCsays:

August 2, 2010 - 5:21 pm

Kind of strange, and a little embarrassing, that you would perpetuate Salon’s boneheadedly obtuse “gotcha” and lump Goldberg in with Podhoretz as a “right-wing neocon” on the same day that he scored the ADL over the mosque decision. As Golberg wrote, “The fight is not between the West and Islam; it is between modernists of all monotheist faiths, on the one hand, and the advocates of a specific strain of medievalist Islam, on the other. If we as a society punish Muslims of good faith, Muslims of good faith will join the other side.” This is hardly the kind of thing you’d read in Commentary. Goldberg confounds critics because he doesn’t fit neatly into their preconceived categories — proud Zionist who reviles the settlemetn movement, a sometime hawk who wants a two-state solution, a defender of Israel who can admit when it messes up. We need more like him,and less pigeonholing from the right and the left.

Davidsays:

August 2, 2010 - 5:27 pm

Marc is being sarcastic. Don’t make the same mistake with this post that Salon made with Goldberg’s – it’s a joke.

Davidsays:

August 2, 2010 - 5:33 pm

“d says:
Aug 2, 2010 at 5:27 PM

Marc is being sarcastic. Don’t make the same mistake with this post that Salon made with Goldberg’s – it’s a joke.”

I don’t know if your comment was directed at me, but for once I wasn’t going after Marc. This would be the be last I would complain about. I just stating the fact I can’t believe people actually thought Goldberg would make such a stupid mistake. I might not agree with everything Goldberg has to say, but the man is not stupid.

Marc Tracysays:

August 2, 2010 - 9:53 pm

I’m never using sarcasm again. Ooops there I go again.

fwsays:

August 2, 2010 - 10:01 pm

Wow, total dedication, commenting at this hour, Marc.

Careful, or you’ll turn into a lunatic like the rest of us.

mannysays:

August 3, 2010 - 3:39 pm

Very likely he knows neither Jews nor toilets.

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